Special flooring for indoor and outdoor sports activities, dancing and other like uses, especially for roller skating, have been proposed in the prior art. Such flooring has been formed from a variety of materials including linoleum, wood, plastic and concrete. Among the drawbacks of such prior art floors are their high initial cost, permanency of installation, and the fact that they must be made and installed on the spot, rather than being prefabricated and carried to an assembly location. Furthermore, the usual floors for sports activities, such as skating, do not wear evenly, resulting in the necessity of repairing large local areas.
In view of the above and other deficiencies of the known prior art, it is the aim of this invention to provide a prefabricated, easily transportable sectional floor for roller skating and many other similar activities which can be quickly assembled and installed in a variety of environments. The flooring embodying the invention consists essentially of underlying extruded aluminum deck sections which can be set down on any solid base, such as a bed of sand or other even supporting surface. The deck sections are placed side-by-side to provide a continuous level supporting face. Rectangular plates, blocks or tiles of tough plastic are adapted to be laid on and lockingly engaged with the deck sections in juxtaposed relation to provide a continuous, smooth and highly wear-resistant floor surface.
The deck sections have spaced parallel grooves which receive similarly spaced rows of press or snap studs molded to the bottoms of the tiles. Additional intervening rows of locator pins on the bottoms of the tiles are received by locator openings of the decking. Each tile rests on and interlocks with at least two deck sections, so that the tiles serve to releasably connect the flooring in assembled relationship. When wear or damage to the flooring occurs, individual tiles may be replaced, as required.
Additionally, the floor constructed under the invention can be rapidly disassembled should it be necessary to remove it for use elsewhere. The floor is weather-resistant, and any water present is not retained but flows away beneath the extruded deck sections. Likewise, the floor is indifferent to humidity changes, and the influences of expansion and contraction due to temperature changes are very minimal. This is in contradistinction to the prior art where floors and skating rinks have been constructed from sections of plastic glued onto plywood plates or the like. In addition to being very expensive, such floors are highly sensitive to temperature and humidity changes and are damaged by the weather. Cracks form during cold weather and curling up occurs at the joints in hot weather. Water infiltrating the joints between blocks causes irreparable damage in the prior art types of floors. In the invention, no adhesives are employed and the materials used inherently resist these factors.
The portability of the floor according to this invention allows it to be installed in many places at a very low cost compared to the prior art. For example, the sturdy extruded metal deck sections forming the base of the flooring could be placed over and across a swimming pool and in many other similar locations.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following description.